An Offer of Proof
by Travis Church
Summary: You traveled seas to witness this. What sits there is a father's child; egg and all. Do you think you have done enough?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: HTTYD does not belong to the author**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

A young boy strode slowly up a dirty path, where the grass pushed itself through the stone pathway and the dirt kissed the stones. His dragon carefully walked at his side to be sure of that the boy would not fall down if the slope was too much.

The two finally made their way to the apex of the path and were flabbergasted at what they saw.

Lights, a chain of people organized in a loose circlet, glittering in the night! The image overwhelmed the two. As they descended the path, the boy smelt wine while the dragon smelt meat and fish. The smoke from the cooking pit flirted with the smoke from the fireplace who danced with the smoke from the numerous torches. This festival of smoke rose up to the night sky and twirled itself around pale beams of light and cradled tiny starry gems.

The two descended even further down the path and listened as the noise evolved into something more distinct and something more pleasant. The cries of laughter rose above the loud speeches of neighbors and friends. The sound of music climbed above the attempted songs of man. Oh Gods, what a feast!

The two were in awe of the beautiful chaos. The ring of people moved in rhythm with the music, twisting and turning and running around. Their garments swept dust and smoke away from the center of the festival and pulled in even more dancers. The sounds and smells marinated together outside the ring and, like a burst of fire, they flooded inside the halo and exploded outwards. And when the festivities erupted from the circle, a tremor resounded throughout the area; a tremor that was laced with vibrancy and good humors! The two could feel the adrenaline and ecstasy build inside their hearts as they descended the weathered road.

But when they finished the slope, all eyes laid upon them. The music and laughter died as quickly as a piece of wheat in a flame. The smoke swirled around the moon, creating a thick column of light that shone intensely on the two. The boy could feel their eyes shift downwards to see his false leg and to the side to spot a red tailfin against black scales.

"Uhh," the boy began awkwardly, "We're here to see," he fumbled in his pack to find a piece of paper, "Tergus?"

The crowed all sighed and started to speak jubilantly at the name in indistinct and dissimilar voices. The murmur stopped when a single voice cried out, "Please! Here!"

The duo approached the sound and saw a single woman, the wrinkles in her light olive skin made thin shadows on her face and her eyes shone dully in the soft moonlight. "Are you the dragon tamer we asked for?"

The boy nodded slowly.

"Thank our savior!" She hugged the boy with fair sized arms and when she straightened her back she bent over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "You have arrived. Please follow me."

The crowd parted a pathway for the duo and led them past the glimmering navy tiles that lined the floor and to a large wooden doorway decorated in golden ornaments. She, the boy, and his dragon pushed the doors inside and shut them when they could slide in.

Only fire lit the insides of this chamber. There were no murals, no glittering tiles, no smells of wine and meat, it was indeed a modest descending chamber—perhaps even Spartan. The old woman brushed her wild grain colored hair away from her face and called out to the two to hurry. "Please," she added.

They continued to descend until the floor stopped sloping downwards. She motioned them underneath a stone archway and into an extremely bare room.

There were only two things that were in this room: a fire pit and a strange man.

The woman ran to the man, whose skin was much lighter in the light than hers, and gave him a hug before whispering something inaudible.

"Tergus," she said gesturing to the two guests, "This is the dragon tamer we have heard so much about."

The man rubbed his face and approached the two. The boy saw that his eyes sagged in exhaustion but his face still held its young vigor.

The boy expected some snide comment about how thin he is or how young he was but no remark came.

With an outstretched light tanned hand, the man asked with pleading brown eyes, "Will you help me?"

The boy took the hand and shook it lightly. The man's eyes lit up with joy and the man, the boy, and the dragon approached the fire pit. The woman whispered something to the man and she left the duo to do the task they have been summoned to do.

The two visitors looked deep into the pit and saw a thin oval shape emerge from the feathery blaze. Their eyes honed into the image and saw an egg of some sort.

"I've been at this for days," the man started in a baritone voice. "And everyone's expecting it to hatch anytime soon. But I don't know what to do!" He cried out. "I tried different types of woods, throwing incendiary material, I even gave multiple prayers. I just don't know what to do," he wearily said.

The boy looked at the char and to his dragon and watched as his dragon guided a blue flare from his lips to the pyre.

"We've got to wait. I think that's all we need." The boy said.

"Then we pray," the man kneeled at the fireplace, "Will you join me?"

The boy kneeled alongside the man and his dragon sat on his haunches. The woman was long gone and took away her motherly presence, but there was something still in the air…


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: HTTYD does not belong to the author**

**Everything else is by Travis Church**

The young boy and the dragon both woke up and peered around the underground room. The fire in the hearth had faded away and left in its place was a thin rising trail of smoke. The room was still lit by the thin torches that adorned the walls, although lit poorly. And the egg was gone.

"What?" The boy's eyes focused on the fireplace and noticed the immediate absence of a dragon egg. "Come on bud!" He nudged the ebony dragon, "We need to find that egg! It's gone!"

The dragon's beryl oculars honed into the fire pit and he was just as shocked as the boy. The two then jolted up the incline to find the man and, hopefully, the egg in one piece.

They almost approached the exit until the woman they had met was peeking through the large wooden doors.

"Dragon tamer! You are awake!" She approached him and began to hug the boy in a vice grip. "Please, follow me; something wonderful has happened while you were asleep."

She led them out the gargantuan doors and into the merciless daylight. The scent of bad wine and rotting meats ambushed their senses when they entered the remains of the festivities. Tables were monoliths to last night's feast, footprints in the dust were signs of some impossibly large migration, and the occasional sleeping body was a monument to the free flowing wine that was offered. It was disgusting to say the least.

Instead of climbing up the dirt path they traveled to find this place, they were led to a grouping of hills to the east. They rode the waves of grass and Earth and navigated the terrain with the woman as their compass and chart.

It was a fairly short distance until they saw a house, mild in sizing and color. The sandstone walls blended nicely into the prairie, giving it the illusion of another stone in the grassland. The three approached the wooden door and waited for a response. There was unfortunately no way for his dragon to enter the home so he consoled him, scratched under his chin, and told him to be patient.

The boy and woman entered and navigated the rooms until they met the man from last night.

"Where's the egg?" The boy asked.

"The egg is gone." The boy was afraid of what he implied, "But there is a dragon instead." And his heart stopped palpitating with fear at, what sounded to be, the loving statement.

The three followed him to a room furnished with cabinets and baskets of food. The man took down some cloth from a wall and light streamed through a window to shine on a fireplace burning with wood roasting a piece of meat on a split.

But what caught the attention of the boy was a tiny creature resting inside a cupboard, body pulsing in a gentle largo rhythm.

The man walked over to the creature and cradled it in his arms. It awoke slowly and nuzzled itself to his chest while purring softly.

He walked over to the boy and offered him to look at the little dragon. Its body was the color of lightly roasted barley and it rubbed its hornless head affectionately near the man's heart. It opened its eyes carefully to look at the world and scanned the face of the man with soft golden eyes.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" The young one asked as he tickled the creature's jaw.

"It is a boy." The man said lovingly.

"Congratulations."

They stepped outside and the large dark dragon craned his head forward to the, now four, people exiting the humble abode.

"What did you name your dragon?" The man asked the boy while watching the newborn dragon playfully flair its soft leathery wings at the larger dragon.

"I named him something that made sense to me at the time."

"Hmm," the man thought aloud as he saw the hatchling croon. "Well, I saw him sleeping in my cupboards this morning. And he certainly likes to play inside them…" The baby dragon looked up to the man in question before he answered, "Hutch. I shall name you Hutch."

In response, the infant dragon crooned playfully and purred happily before jumping up to his shoulders.

"I think he likes the name." The boy chuckled.

"Thank you very much," the man bowed to him. "Last night, that egg was my life. You would not believe what I had to do to protect that egg. And now," he said as he watched the dragon outstretch its thin body, "I have a something to live for. To protect for. To love for." The young boy watched in fascination as his dragon gave a grin to the newborn dragon and the little vocalizations that spewed forth. "You gave me hope last night, that I could live out my dream to love someone aside from myself. Because what is a life that you love no one but yourself? A vain one. I have had enough vanity for a lifetime," he spat out. The infant dragon looked up curiously to the man and he sighed contently. "Last night, I was another person who lived their life alone. In silence, I sustained myself for no other reason than 'because I can.' But now, I have a purpose. I have a son. Thank you dragon tamer and thank you dragon for everything you have done for me. I am in your debt."

The light warm air danced around the grouping as the boy said, "If you ever need anything, you know where I live. A few days north of 'hopeless' and a few degrees south of 'freezing to death.'"

"I shall make sure to come to you if needs be."

"Bye Tergus," and he motioned over to the little dragon to tickle his wings, "bye Hutch."

"Good bye Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and good bye Toothless."

With their salutations in order, the two flew back to Berk knowing that Hutch was certainly in good hands.

**A/N: Well this was fun, in a crazed whimsical way, and thus concludes the ****An Offer of Proof**** series! Anyway, so this in my head is going to act as a prologue to ****The Dragon Who Ate Nothing****, which is coming as soon as ****The Strangers**** or ****Pomona**** is completed.**

**A big thank you to SkyHighFan, Pterodactyl, Kara Crane, and meggie6 for subscribing to the (short) crazy train!**

**Please rate, review, and give me your thoughts! **


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